Urinary Incontinence

1 in 3 women who have ever had a baby wet themselves. Lets talk Urinary Incontinence!

A lot of advice is shared about motherhood, but something few people talk about is bladder and bowel problems both during pregnancy and after birth.

A range of factors, including pregnancy or childbirth, can cause a weak pelvic floor.

If you experience any of the following you may have weak pelvic floor muscles that contribute to bladder or bowel problems:

Leak urine when you cough, sneeze, lift, laugh or do exercise

Not be able to control passing wind

Feel an urgent need to empty your bladder or bowel

Leak bowel motion after you have been to the toilet

Have trouble cleaning yourself after a bowel motion

Find it hard to pass a bowel motion unless you change position or use your finger to help, or

Feel a lump in your vagina or a sensation of dragging (mostly at the end of the day), which could mean that one or more of your pelvic organs might be sagging down into your vagina (also known as prolapse)

The birth of your baby might have stretched your pelvic floor muscles and any ‘pushing down’ action in the first weeks after the baby’s birth might stretch the pelvic floor again.

Regular pelvic floor muscle training kept up over the long term, as well as the right advice will help. It can often be difficult to know what the pelvic floor is or how to use it correctly.

Having the right guidance and advice from a Physiotherapist can have huge benefits both in the short-term and long-term aspects of daily living.

Your Physiotherapist can assist in pelvic floor, bladder or bowel problems in various ways:

Education on the anatomy & function of the pelvic floor

How to turn on & use the pelvic floor

Advice to reduce leakage & control urges

How to incorporate the pelvic floor into daily activities & improve exercise

Information on further investigations or specialists

No mum wants to put up with wetting themselves, you’ve got enough on your plate!